A severe shortage of tea leaves has led to the closure of at least 225 tea factories across the country, a development that threatens the long-term viability of Sri Lanka’s tea industry, according to Nimal Udugampola, Chairman of the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority (TSHDA).
Udugampola made the revelation during an awareness workshop held at the Rekadahena Tea Factory in Elpitiya, organised under the “Purity of Tea Leaves” initiative, which aims to educate smallholder tea growers in the Galle District.
The event drew the participation of several key industry stakeholders, including Dushara Geeganage, Director of the Evergreen Tea Factory Group, TSHDA Deputy General Manager Rohitha Weeraratne, TSHDA Regional Manager Indika Mohotti, Assistant Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Tea Board L.K. Ajith, and Pradeep Alwis of the Tea Research Institute.
Industry in crisis
Udugampola attributed the widespread factory shutdowns to a sustained drop in both the quantity and quality of green leaf harvests. “The current shortage is unprecedented and, unless addressed, will make it impossible to sustain the tea industry,” he warned.
He added that the situation poses a serious challenge to the government’s strategic target of producing 170 million kilograms of made tea annually by 2030. “That figure is overly ambitious under current conditions. The highest annual production recorded was just 134 million kilograms in 2013,” he noted.
Tea Board reaction
Responding to the claims, Tea Commissioner Mahesh Jayawardena of the Sri Lanka Tea Board acknowledged that between 20 to 25 factories typically shut down each year, though many are replaced by new ventures or undergo changes in ownership.
“I’m not aware of 225 factory closures this year. I will look into this further,” Jayawardena said.
Despite the official figures, several factory owners confirmed that a noticeable number of closures have occurred recently, driven largely by the leaf shortage and, in some cases, operational mismanagement.
While an exact count remains unclear, consensus among industry insiders suggests the crisis is real and escalating.
(With inputs from ADA)
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